Who is Matt Resinger?
I started my career as a C.N.A in long term care at the age of 20. Most of my friends back then could not understand why I enjoyed working in long term care. I have always enjoyed working with the elderly. I love the stories the residents share. I feel it not only helped my career at the time, but it gave me more appreciation of just how short life is. I’m a family guy, a weekend warrior and I get the most satisfaction in life when my kids are having fun.
After receiving my BSN, I worked in the acute care setting (ICU). My interests changed dramatically during my second day on the job as a brand-new RN. I was a complete task oriented novice at the time with very little knowledge outside of my textbooks.
I was assisting my patient who was on mechanical ventilation residing in the intensive care unit. Just then, an elderly female patient fell off the roof. She landed on the outside window sill of the room I was assigned to on the second floor. I rushed to the sealed window only to watch her fall again onto the awning of the emergency department.
I ran into the hallway in a semi-state of shock searching for the ICU attending physician. We ran down the stair well together, through the ER, outside and then finally I boosted him onto the awning of the ER. The elderly patient expired a brief time later. At first, I wondered about suicide, but this was certainly not the case. She opened her window and literally went for a walk unaware of her surroundings. After this incident, I became focused on learning about delirium, dementia and the elderly.
Several years later, I completed my FNP certification. After a brief period as a hospitalist, I moved back into long term care, specifically within the field of geriatric psychiatry. Since then I have resided on the line where geriatrics and behavioral health come together. I completed my PMHNP certification in August 2017 and passed the PMHNP exam in September 2017. Additionally, I belong to the APNA, AMDA, NPARI and I currently volunteer for the DHS guardianship program of Rhode Island/Division of Elderly affairs. As a seasoned APRN, I have had the opportunity to be consulted on the behavioral health care of over 10,000 persons residing in long term care.